Chapter 186 "Who taught you this?" "I saw it online."...

Little Star's mini-pot dish platter is called "Cooking Pot".

This type of cooking pot is a common way to keep food warm in An Fusheng's hometown during winter.

In An Fusheng's hometown, people prefer stir-frying, pursuing the smoky aroma and sense of happiness brought by the wok. However, when the weather is cold, the heat is carried away by the cold air as soon as the food is taken out of the wok.

In order to retain that wisp of heat, people explored the method of using a hot pot to continue heating the food after it has been cooked. The stir-fried dishes are placed in a thin-skinned small pot and then heated with charcoal fire to firmly protect the wisp of heat that comes out of the pot.

In winter, a family gathering around a steaming pot to eat and chat is a unique memory and source of warmth in winter.

Not long after the restaurant opened, Xu Sannian suggested that customers cook their own meals, and An Fusheng immediately thought of the cooking pot for winter.

The vegetables in the hot pot are prepared by the chef and then put in. However, some vegetables with broth can be blanched directly. If one less serving of vegetables is prepared for each table, hundreds less servings can be prepared per day. It may seem insignificant, but it actually reduces a lot of workload.

Moreover, the cooking pots are fixed in their configuration, and the quantity of each dish is small. The chef can divide a dish into three portions, which saves cooking time and speeds up the serving of dishes. The faster the dishes are served, the sooner the guests can eat at their tables, which shortens the time between table changes and naturally increases the table turnover rate.

Teacher Liang wanted to go to Xiaoxingchen Restaurant early to avoid the crowds during peak hours, but when he arrived at the restaurant at 11:00, the entrance was packed with people.

"Why are you all outside? Is the gate not open yet?" Teacher Liang asked.

Someone said, "There are no seats available, there's a queue. Are you here to eat too?"

The teacher exclaimed in surprise, "It's already full?"

The man said, "It's the weekend, of course there are a lot of people."

Teacher Liang was quite pleased: "The fact that people are lining up to eat means business is pretty good."

The man said, "That's right. This restaurant uses fresh, natural ingredients, the chef is skilled, and the dishes are especially flavorful. They also have many unique dishes that you can't find elsewhere, and the prices are reasonable. It's a real gem of a restaurant."

The teacher smiled and said, "That's good."

Is this your first time here?

"yes."

"You need to get a number first."

"Okay, I'll go get a number."

Knowing that Teacher Liang was coming, An Fusheng estimated the time and went out to take a look. Sure enough, he saw Teacher Liang outside chatting and eating melon seeds with someone.

“Teacher Liang, why are you also queuing outside? You can just come in,” An Fusheng said.

Teacher Liang waved her hand, "That won't do. Everyone has to line up first and then wait their turn. I can't break the rules."

An Fusheng tried to persuade her a few more times, but Teacher Liang insisted on queuing, so An Fusheng had no choice but to go back and continue cooking.

Little Star serves food very quickly, and the table turnover rate is quite high. Although the queue looks long, the turnover is actually quite fast. Teacher Liang only waited for less than half an hour before her number was called.

As instructed by An Fusheng, Zhaolin arranged a quiet spot for Teacher Liang by the window, but it was by the back window, with a lush green vegetable garden outside, which made people feel peaceful and at ease.

Upon hearing that Teacher Liang had taken her seat, An Fusheng personally came over to ask Teacher Liang what she would like to eat.

Teacher Liang kept urging him to go about his business, but An Fusheng said he wasn't very busy.

To be honest, the restaurant business is getting better and better, and there are more and more things to manage. He doesn't want to continue working overtime after getting home every day, so he is gradually letting go of the cooking.

Now that Meng Cuie is here, and Ji Qingqing and Wen Yue are already on the right track, the original two assistants, Ji Qingqing and Wen Yue, each have one assistant and have also started learning to cook. Later, An Fusheng asked Director Zhang for two more assistants, so now the kitchen staff is more than sufficient.

Xiao Hui is going to have surgery soon, so Meng Cuie took a week off, but the restaurant was still able to operate smoothly.

Teacher Liang flipped through the dishes and said, "The dishes all look good, but there aren't many varieties."

An Fusheng said, "Well, because most of our ingredients are grown organically in the countryside, they are highly seasonal. So the menu is adjusted according to the season. Although there aren't many varieties, we always have something new to eat."

Teacher Liang said, "That's good. We Chinese people value the natural order and ethics. Since ancient times, our diet has also followed the guidance of nature. Whatever season it is, whatever nature provides, we eat. This is the wisdom of following the seasons, and it is also the tacit understanding between humans and nature. In spring we eat sprouts, in summer we eat melons, in autumn we eat fruits, and in winter we eat roots. Humans draw on nature's gifts in the flow of seasons and repay the nourishment of heaven and earth with reverence. This cycle is the most authentic 'harmony between man and nature' in food."

An Fusheng said, "That makes sense."

Teacher Liang: "Since it's about 'eating roots in winter,' how about some braised beef with radish over there? And other dishes... can you recommend something?"

An Fusheng said, "Our dishes are quite large. One radish stew with braised beef plus a vegetable dish would be enough for you. We will also give you a complimentary serving of pickled radish."

Teacher Liang: "...No, I want to order another one. If we can't finish it, we can just pack it up. Who comes here just to support the restaurant and only orders one dish? If you don't recommend anything, I'll order it myself."

An Fusheng: "..."

“In China, a good meal is incomplete without fish, and cooking fish is the ultimate test of culinary skills. I’ll just ask for another fish, so I can test your cooking skills,” said Teacher Liang.

"Why is there an exam over a meal?" An Fusheng asked honestly. "What kind of fish would you like to eat? Today we have soft-shelled turtle, grass carp, crucian carp, small yellow croaker, and tiny fish from the stream that never grow big. As for cooking methods, we have braised fish, fish stewed with green peppers, fish head stewed with tofu, fish roe and fish maw in a casserole, radish and crucian carp soup, or a hot pot of soft-shelled turtle, eel, and frog, or stir-fried small fish and shrimp with green peppers."

"Fish roe and fish maw?" Teacher Liang asked.

"Hmm," An Fusheng said, "It doesn't taste fishy."

Teacher Liang: "Then let's have fish roe and fish maw. I had this dish many years ago when I was traveling. It was so delicious that I still miss it. But I haven't seen any restaurant in the area make it. I didn't expect you to have it here."

An Fusheng: "Okay."

...

After ordering the food for Teacher Liang, An Fusheng went back to the kitchen to cook.

The longer the radish and beef stew is stewed, the more flavorful it becomes, so it was already stewing when I arrived this morning. However, it wasn't An Fusheng who stewed it, but Wen Yue. Luckily, Teacher Liang ordered another dish, otherwise An Fusheng wouldn't have been able to cook for him himself.

The fish roe and fish maw had already been cleaned in advance. An Fusheng asked his assistant to bring the fish roe and fish maw over. He added half a pot of water to the pot, then poured in the fish roe and fish maw, added an appropriate amount of rice wine, blanched them, and then took them out.

Next, wash the pot clean, heat it up and add rapeseed oil. Once the oil is hot, An Fusheng first adds some chopped fish heads, mainly to make the soup richer.

Pan-fry the fish head in hot oil until golden brown on both sides, then add ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. After stir-frying the ginger, garlic, and chili peppers in hot oil until fragrant, An Fusheng added a spoonful of dried chili powder, then quickly stir-fried it with the fish head for a few seconds. Before the dried chili peppers burn, add half a bottle of beer, then add water.

After the soup has come to a full boil, add the blanched fish roe and fish maw to the soup and cook.

When the pot is heated over high heat, the broth boils and the fish roe and fish maw float and sink in the boiling broth, constantly absorbing the broth and releasing their own freshness and aroma.

When the fish roe was almost cooked, An Fusheng added a piece of lard to the broth. The lard softened the fish roe and swim bladder. He then added salt, MSG, and pepper, covered the pot, and continued to simmer.

The assistant peeked out from behind.

An Fusheng couldn't help but tease him: "How's your learning going?"

Assistant: "Isn't salt added last?"

An Fusheng: "And who taught you that?"

The assistant stuck out her tongue. "I saw it online."

An Fusheng: "Have you ever paid attention to how other people add salt when you watch them cook?"

The assistant said, "I've only ever seen prepared dishes at the orphanage and at school; I've never seen anyone cook."

An Fusheng: "The timing of adding salt when cooking is also important. From a health perspective, too much salt is bad for your health, so doctors recommend adding salt last when cooking. This way, just a little bit will have flavor and can effectively avoid the problem of eating too much salt. However, in addition to health, we also need to consider the taste when cooking, so we need to combine the characteristics of salt and ingredients to choose the best time to add salt."

The main component of salt is sodium chloride. When sodium chloride comes into contact with food, it can absorb water from the cells of the food through osmosis. This is why Sister Yueyue asked you to marinate the sliced ​​bitter melon with salt before making bitter melon. Salt can draw out the bitter water from the bitter melon, so that the bitter melon will not taste so bitter.

Because salt has the property of absorbing water, the timing of adding salt varies depending on the ingredients being cooked. For example, leafy greens have a lot of water content, and we need to retain their moisture to make them crisp and delicious, so we add salt when the dish is almost done cooking.

However, for hard vegetables like carrots and potatoes, which don't release water as easily, we can add salt earlier so that it can absorb the flavor better.

Meat has a moderate ability to retain moisture. If you add salt too early, too much moisture will be drawn out, making the meat tough. But if you add salt after it's almost done cooking, there won't be enough time for the flavors to penetrate. So, salt is usually added halfway through cooking.

The assistant nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, "I understand."

The fish roe and fish maw in the pot were almost cooked. An Fusheng lifted the lid, and a rich, fresh aroma wafted out. His assistant couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, it smells so good!"

“What’s the big deal? You’ll have a good time following your boss, Mr. An.” Ji Qingqing added, “It means exactly what it says.”

The assistant swallowed hard, his eyes shining as he looked at An Fusheng.

An Fusheng: Fortunately, they required us to wear masks.

The fish roe and fish maw loosened slightly in the bubbling golden broth. The fish roe absorbed enough broth and became very soft and plump. An Fusheng added the chopped perilla leaves and scallion segments, stirred it gently a few times, and then took it out of the pot.

After cooking, the fish roe and fish maw are placed in a preheated casserole. Because the temperature is maintained, the soup continues to simmer gently until the dish is served. The golden fish roe trembles slightly in the soup, and wisps of white steam rise, filling the air with a fresh and fragrant aroma.

"Mmm, smells delicious!" Teacher Liang smelled the aroma as soon as the dish was placed on the table. "Quick, give me a bowl of rice. This dish must be served with white rice."

Before An Fusheng could even agree, a waiter had already brought over several other dishes and rice.

The radish and beef stew was also served in a clay pot, steaming hot and fragrant. There was also a side of pickled radish shreds and stir-fried white cabbage shoots. The pickled radish shreds were coated with chili oil and were bright red, while the white cabbage shoots were fresh, tender and glossy.

The four dishes on the table were a mix of meat and vegetables, each with its own distinct color. Just looking at them was enough to make one's mouth water, not to mention the aroma that had already filled the air, stirring up all the cravings within.